Sabrina Casalta works well under pressure. And the new Vodafone Ireland chief has had plenty of it to test her, whether it is in the executive boardroom or on one of her road trips that turn out to be a little more challenging than you would expect.

Casalta says she likes to be forced out of her comfort zone and, with travel, there is always the potential for things to go wrong. A recent 300km trip in Mozambique threw up some interesting obstacles. “It took 12 hours. The road was foggy, there were points where you couldn’t see two metres ahead. The road was ruined by massive holes from the civil war, and there were lots of people and students walking to school on the side of the road,” she recalls. “I was responsible for making the plans. And I was the one driving for the 12 hours.”

The move from Vodafone Italy in the wake of its €8 billion sale to Swisscom to head the Irish business is her latest challenge.

“Being a CEO was actually not in my plan,” she says. “I don’t think there is the ‘final job’. It’s a journey.”

Caslta’s career is not what you would describe as linear.

“I’m not a vertical expert in one area or another. I went through different experiences and I think they were all built around curiosity, and adding pieces and tools to my skills in order to always have a broader impact.”

After graduating with a masters in management engineering, Casalta began working as a consultant, first with PricewaterhouseCoopers (now PwC), and subsequently with Boston Consulting Group. That involved working across multiple industries, focusing mainly on strategy and business transformation but not in financial services and telecoms.

Then, 14 years ago, she took up a role with Vodafone.

“When I got the chance to join Vodafone, I said, why not?